United States Territorial Gains (1783-1853)

The Louisiana Purchase 1803

To develop the West, the Mississippi River, a vital trade route, had to be
kept open. But the French had taken over much of the Spanish land in the
West and controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River at New Orleans.
In 1803, Jefferson, sent James Monroe to Paris to buy the city of New
Orleans from the French government. The French, however, offered to
sell not just New Orleans, but French claims to the vast area of Native
American lands.
When Jefferson heard of the French proposal, he was at first troubled because the Constitution did not
allow for the purchase of new territory beyond the Mississippi River. He overcame his doubts, however,
and urged Congress to complete the sale. Although the Louisiana Purchase dramatically increased the
size of the national debt, it also doubled the size of United States claims with a stroke of a pen.
Florida Cession 1819
The Florida Cession also known as the Spanish Cession or Spanish
Florida includes land that was divided into two sections which were
East Florida which consisted of present-day Florida, and parts of
present-day Alabama and the other section West Florida which
consisted of parts of present-day Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
It was given to the United States in the Adams-Ons Treaty of 1819, after Andrew Jackson invaded
Spanish forts in Spanish Florida without approval from the current president, James Monroe. US
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams argued that Jackson's actions were justified because the
Spanish could not maintain control of their Florida colony, thus allowing Seminoles and runaway slaves to
harass the US border. Spain therefore ceded the territory to the United States, on the condition that
the United States pays up to five million dollars to cover the claims made by American citizens against
Spain. A small portion of what is now Colorado was also ceded in Spanish due to discrepancies in the
border resulting from the treaty.
Texas Annexation 1845
In 1845, the United States of America annexed (added) the Republic of Texas and
admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas' border
dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the
U.S. captured additional territory (known as the Mexican Cession of 1848), extending
the nation's borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Texas claimed the eastern part
of this new territory, comprising parts of present-day Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico,
Texas, Wyoming, Utah, and Oklahoma. The resulting dispute among Texas, the
federal government, and New Mexico Territory was resolved in the Compromise of
1850, when much of these lands became parts of other territories of the United States in exchange for
the U.S. federal government assuming the Texas Republic's $10 million in debt.

Oregon Territory 1846

The Lewis and Clark expedition discovered the land route to the
Oregon Territory. American fur traders followed their path. Soon
American farmers rolled in on wagon trains. They came over the trails
made by the fur traders. These American farmers wanted their new
homeland to be part of the United States and also wanted the English
to leave. In 1846, a treaty signed with the British officially seceded
the Oregon territory to the United States, South of the 49 th Parallel.
Finally Americans living in that region were part of the United States.
The territory gained ran from the northern border of California to the Southern boarder of Alaska.
The treaty gave the United States the modern day states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Mexican Cession 1848
By the 1840s many American believed in the Manifest Destiny, the idea
that the United States should stretch all the way to the Pacific Ocean,
this became one of President Polks major goals as president. In 1845 Polk
annexed (added) Texas. According to the United States, the border
between Texas and Mexico stood at the Rio Grande River (where the
boarder stands today). Mexico was outraged, they maintained the Mexico,
American boarder was further north along the Nueces River (a mere 30
mile difference), and this set the stage for the conflict. Polk sent General
Zachary Taylor to set up military posts between the two rivers to defend
against potential Mexican aggressions. In response to these actions the
Mexicans attacked American troops, thus beginning the Mexican American
war. Congress voted in favor of war in 1846. In 1847, American forces captured the Mexican capital,
Mexico City. In the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico was forced to cede [give up] all of the
southwestern United States including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and the disputed
areas of Texas, in exchange for $15 million. While this land gain gave the US much more land, it
rehashed the debate over slavery.
Gadsden Purchase 1853

So much money for such a small strip of land!! Many American

cried. The United States government wanted to build a railroad to
California. President Pierce sent James Gadsden to buy land for
the railroad from Mexico. Mexico sold the small strip of land
south of the Gila River to the United States. for $10 million. Many
southerners were happy with Gadsden Purchase. They wanted a
railroad running throughout the South to California. This created
an opportunity for Southerners to move to California, and many
believed that the state of California would vote in Congress like many of the other Southern states.
Expansionists were also happy as their manifest density dream had come true.